Quito, Cotopaxi and the Galapagos Islands

Alison and I had a fantastic time exploring some of the treasures that Ecuador has to offer. We flew down to Quito, the capital of Ecuador on Feb 24. Our first full day at 9,400 ft was spent exploring the old colonial part of Quito. The second full day was spent about 2 hrs southwest of Quito at Cotopaxi National Park where we climbed a bit of Cotopaxi mountain. Who knew that it could sleet on you at 15,000 ft at the equator!! Our final day before flying to the Galapagos Islands was spent walking around Quito and catching all that we missed on the first day there.

Then Sunday Feb 28 we flew from Quito to Guayaquil which is a short 30 min flight. In Guayaquil we picked up some more people travelling to the Galapagos Islands. The flight from Guayaquil to San Cristobal was about 1 hr 30 min. We landed in paradise just after 12:30 pm mainland time.

From Feb 28 to Mar 7 we spent our time hiking, snorkeling and enjoying our adventure on 9 different islands in the Galapagos. We met 17 amazing and wonderful people that I will always remember fondly.

Here are a few great shots and you can find the rest at: http://picasaweb.google.com/mtwildflower